The partial oxidation of methanol and ethanol on silica-supported vanadium oxide catalysts was studied using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), Raman spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS). Methanol TPD results for V2O5/SiO2 Samples as a function of vanadia loading in conjunction with X-ray diffraction data and Raman spectra indicated that dispersed vanadia on silica agglomerates into vanadia crystallites during a CH3OH TPD experiment. For ethanol-dosed samples, agglomeration of the dispersed vanadia was less severe, and it was possible to measure the activation energy for the dehydrogenation of adsorbed ethoxides to produce CH3CHO. Assuming a preexponential factor of 10(13) s(-1), the activation energy for this reaction was estimated to be 132 kJ/mol. The results of this study further demonstrate that there is a relatively weak interaction between vanadia and silica and suggest that adsorbed methoxide species help facilitate agglomeration of dispersed vanadia.